You only need to file a Form 8615 if you have more than $2100 of unearned income and meet all other requirements. See below. Unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, capital gains (including capital gain distributions), rents, royalties, etc. It also includes taxable social security benefits, pension, and annuity income, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants not reported on Form W-2, unemployment compensation, alimony, and income (other than earned income) received as the beneficiary of a trust.
If you do not have any of the above, you do not need to file the form hence select NO to the answer.
If you do have any of the unearned income, if your parents are overseas and do not have the SSN, you will not be able to e-file. When you fill out the section of Form 8615 in the program, I will suggest you leave the parents' SSN space blank. Print out your tax forms and write NRA (for NonResident Alien) under your parents' SSN space and submit all the paperwork to the IRS by mail.
Who Must File Form 8615:
-You had more than $2,100 of unearned income.
-You are required to file a tax return.
-You were either:
- a. Under age 18 at the end of 2018,
- b. Age 18 at the end of 2018 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of your support, or
- c. A full-time student at least age 19 and under age 24 at the end of 2018 and didn’t have earned income that was more than half of your support. (Earned income is defined later. Support is defined below.)
-At least one of your parents was alive
